A Servant's Heart

In the Discipline of service there is also great liberty. Service enables us to say "no!" to the world's games of promotion and authority. It abolishes our need (and desire) for a "pecking order." Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

I know I have discussed this book before, but it's honestly one of the most amazing things I've ever read. Today I read about true service vs. self-righteous service. It was very, very convicting. How often do I, as the Casting Crowns song says, "trade an altar for a stage"? How often do I long for the recognition of the people around me? I can see that for me this is a really easy pit to fall into if I'm not careful. And despite the fact that I have received a lot of attention for singing in different places, I don't think that's the area where God is convicting me. I really don't sing for glory. The audience disappears for me, and I really long to sing only for God. But I know in my teaching career this was an issue. I loved being "The Hooks." I loved that parents wanted their children in my class. I didn't care about being liked very much, but I loved being respected, both by faculty and by students. I'm not saying that's why I did a good job, because it isn't, but I know that always in the back of my mind was my reputation as a teacher. I can see that one of the things God is doing is really stripping me of those things which make me arrogant and proud. It's not an easy process, but it's one full of joy when I let Him work like he wants to work in my life.

Know what I did yesterday afternoon? NOTHING! That's right. Nothing. After a tremendous, missions-focused service at San Jose Baptist Church in Jacksonville, we met Janet Wells for lunch. After we left her (and I, of course, had cried for a while), we came home to find lots of ice in the air conditioner. So we turned it off and rested the rest of the afternoon. It was pretty nice. Of course, today we have to finish packing and take John to the dentist and get ready for company tonight, but it was nice to have an afternoon of nothing in my schedule.

I told Marc yesterday when we left Janet--I am tired of saying goodbye. Janet Wells is one of my all-time favorite people. She is compassionate and gracious and loyal to a fault. I told someone the other day--Janet's gift (at least for me) is that she sees me always as I could be, always in the best possible light, and not necessarily as I am right at that moment. I have never known anyone as faithful, loyal, and generous as Janet. To say that I am going to miss her is beyond understatement. However, Jonathan is likely relieved, since now we won't be in choir practice together making him miserable by talking the whole time. (It became a running joke with our families that we would talk through announcements every Sunday morning. Sarah Beth said we always looked like we were hatching some kind of plot.) I am blessed to have Janet as my forever-friend.

Well, there is packing to be done, so I must go. Thank you for reading this. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being our friends. Know that you are prayed for and praised for often! Blessings!
His,
Kellye